Drugmaker ties to diabetes bloggers come under fire

Big pharmaceutical company ties to diabetes bloggers and other social media has some advocacy groups calling for better disclosure, according to a recent post on NPR's Shots blog.

There's a vibrant diabetes community online through blogs, YouTube videos and community forums, the article notes, a big audience that pharmaceutical companies increasingly are trying to tap into by sponsoring blogs and product testimonials. Jeff Chester, of the Center for Digital Democracy, says pharma companies also are using social media to promote their devices and drugs in a deceptive way, and adds that disclosure statements are not enough.

"The [U.S. Food and Drug Administration] and [the Federal Trade Commission] need to create a whole new system for disclosing when a blogger or group gets paid by pharmaceutical companies," Chester says.

Blogger Kerri Sparling, whose site carries disclosures about her ties to drugmakers, meanwhile, says it's in pharmaceutical companies' best interests to take heed of patient experiences, whether on a blog or a YouTube video, so they can improve their products.

Drugmaker Sanofi US is heavily involved in social media, according to NPR, boasting a Twitter account and a Facebook page; the company also is exploring how best to take advantage of sites like Pinterest and Instagram. "Getting involved in social media is a critical component of serving the diabetes community," Sanofi head of diabetes Dennis Urbaniak tells NPR.

Jason Bronner, a researcher at the University of California San Diego Medical Center who is studying whether social media connections actually help diabetes patients manage their disease tells NPR that, so far, there's no proof that they do.

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Sue Schade is the CIO for the University of Michigan Hospitals and Health Centers in Ann Arbor, which boasts 40 health centers across southeast Michigan, and in clinics, hospitals and homes across Michigan and northern Ohio. Prior to her tenure at U-M, Sue spent 12 years as CIO at Harvard Medical School teaching affiliate Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. She also served on the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) Board from 2004 to 2006.

FierceHealthIT is the leading source of Healthcare IT news with a special focus on EHR adoption, Telecmedicine, HIPAA compliance and other critical areas. Join 51,000 healthcare industry insiders who get FierceHealthIT via daily email for their must know IT news.